This is a German line of our family. There is not very much here to go on, but I do hope that it will grow in time! Johann Carl Mehlman was a farmer from the Palatine area of Germany. His date of birth is not known, but he is listed as being 25 years old in 1752. His wife was Dorothea. Her maiden name is unknown, as is their date and place of marriage.1
In June 1752, Johann and Dorothea, along with son John Carl, journeyed down the Rhine to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. There they would embark on a journey to a new world..... and a new life.
On 9 June, they boarded the ship Gale. Ocean passage in that day and age was primitive; meager rations that became stale and putrid over time and drinking water that turned foul. This particular crossing was rough, with violent gales. Some of the seamen died on this voyage, and their was a lot of sickness. The Gale would land in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada about 3 September 1752; but due to the sickness on the boat and the barracks not being complete for the passengers, they could not disembark until 26 September.2Why leave Germany in the first place?
Johann and Dorothea were part of a group of "Foreign Protestants" that were enticed by the British government to come and settle Nova Scotia after the first wave of settlers did not work out.
The first Nova Scotia residents were mostly British, primarily from London.
Within a year, however, it became evident that those who hadn't died of disease were ready to pack it in. They were not used to working the land, not built for it and, in the end, not very inspired by it. Besides, it was too bloody cold.2,3,15The British officials, searching for a way to salvage their settlement, took notice of the few German and Swiss people that also lived in the community, and seemed to be thriving. They decided that these sturdy, dependable souls were just what they needed to save the colony.
To this end, they enlisted one John Dick of Rotterdam as procurer. To this end, Mr. Dick posted handbills and posters with information about the new Canadian settlement, Nova Scotia. You can be sure that they glossed over the cold climate, the Indian attacks and rocky soil (the Canadian Encyclopedia estimates that only about 10% of Nova Scotia's land is suitable for farming). There was one catch: Protestants only; no Roman Catholics were welcome. Thus the nickname "Foreign Protestant".2,3
That there was an area of the world that not only welcomed but preferred them was good news for the Protestants. The previous 100 years or so had not been easy for them. War after war--from the Thirty Years' War on down to the War of Spanish Succession--was fought in and around the Palatine. With the French as the aggressors, one of the goals was to install Catholicism as the primary religion and stamp out Protestantism. A country that would embrace them because of their religion instead of trying to persecute them for it must have seemed like an answer to a prayer.4One of the provisions provided to the new settlers was that there would be food provided for them until they could become self-sustaining. The type and amount of food provided to each family was tracked on "victualing lists". The food was usually obtained from a local shopkeeper who would be reimbursed by the British government. These lists have apparently been lost. What remains are the handwritten notes of Winthrop Bell, author of "The Foreign Protestants' and the Settlement of Nova Scotia". From those notes, researchers have been able to cobble together victualing lists. The lists can be found here and also here.5,6
John and Dorothea were given allotments of food at Halifax from 19 February-15 April 1753.
On 26-27 December 1753, Carl Mehlman was listed in the Lunenburg Return of Arms as being assigned to the Rudolph Division. This directly corresponded with the Town Lot Division that they were assigned. This page shows that Carl Mehlman was assigned Lot G-3 in Rudolph's Division; according to this page, the lot was located on York Street.
Carl and Dorothea had the following children:
John Carl- All that is known is his name as listed on the immigrant list.1
The death details for Johann Carl Mehlman and his wife Dorothea are unknown.
Johann Charles Mehlman was born about 1754 and baptized 17 July 1754.9
John, as he is referred to in most records, married Anna Margaret Froelich (also spelled Fralick) on 9 October 1775 at the Dutch Reformed Church in Lunenburg.9
The known children of Charles and Anna are:
Anna Margaret Froelick died sometime before the end of 1796.
William is either the grandson or the great-grandson of Carl and Dorothea. He was born 24 July 1811 in Nova Scotia; his parents have not been sorted out yet. William was a lumber merchant by trade.8,10
On 16 October 1841, William married Isabella Mehlman. Isabella was born 28 September 1805; her baptism took place in Lunenberg on 9 November at the Dutch Reformed Church.10 Her parentage is also in question at this time.
William and Isabella had the following known children:
Isabella Mehlman died 5 August 1859 and was buried in the Old Cemetery in Charleston. Although son James was almost grown, William still had four minor children to be cared for; one still an infant. A bit of a daunting task for two men who were undoubtedly busy earning a living. William needed another wife as quickly as possible....
Enter Miss Caroline Anne Robinson or Robertson. A mere age 23 at their marriage on 7 April 1860 in Liverpool, Caroline was about 25 years younger than her new husband!
Did William deliberately chose a younger woman, feeling she would have the energy needed to care for his young and growing family? I'd imagine that was a consideration, but I'm sure he thought highly of her as well.
At any rate, she settled right into her role as wife and stepmother, and very quickly added "Mother" to her crown of achievements when she and William started their own family the following year.
William and Caroline had the following known children:
No death information is known for William Mehlman or Caroline Robinson.
Sources:
1. Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867 Vol. 1, pages 176-177 at Ancestry
2. To Nova Scotia: The Emigration
3. The Canadian Encyclopedia on Nova Scotia
4. History of the Palatine German Immigration on Olive Tree Genealogy
5. The Wizard's Cove-a treasure trove of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia information.
6. Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia GenWeb page.
7. "Lunenberg-An Illustrated History" by Brian Cuthbertson
8. Census Records
9. Lunenberg & Queens County BMD's (Don Shankle's collection)
10. Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics
11. Queens County, Nova Scotia GenWeb Project
12. Sally Mack-photos and information.
13. Steven Mehlman-information.
14. "The Foreign Protestants & the History of Nova Scotia" by Winthrop Bell
15. "The Foreign Protestants" at the Nova Scotia ArchivesThank you to Chris Young, webmaster of the Wizard's Cove, for permission to use his information. Also thanks to Sally Mack and Steven Mehlman for their assistance.
This page was updated March 2016. .
Noel Family of Brockton, MA by Jolynn Noel Winland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States LicenseWhat does this mean? .
Email: littleangeljw@yahoo.com
